I am Australian, and I must say we are stereotyped very often.

Inspired by the 'how do you say 'hello'?' forum, here's your chance to set things straight about your country. Also discuss your experiences with different cultures.

So as I mentioned stereotypes of Australians are everywhere. Many began circulating thanks to 'Crocodile Dundee' in the eighties. We definitely say things like 'G'day', 'Mate' and 'flaming galah' (the latter  less so) but we don't use them all the time.

We often joke about ourselves and others and our humour can be confusing to many different cultures (especially America). A comedian once said that an Australian can say anything to someone (no matter how offensive it may be) as long as they finish it with 'm-m-mate....'. Offence is rarely meant. And it is best not to take Australians to seriously when jokes are made.

Something that many people from countries other than Australia or New Zealand get confused with is the fact that we tend to ask how things are. For instance: it's pouring down with rain, an Australian says to a Brit - "Hows the weather today?" the Briton doesn't understand the question, it's quite clearly raining, the Australian can see that. "Hows the weather?" refers to the obvious answer that it is  raining heavily and therefore the questions true meaning is "How terrible is the weather today?"

Questions that often come up when speaking to other nationalities are things like - 'Do you have pet kangaroos?' It's very rare to have native animals as pets. 'Do you ride kangaroos to school?' (This was a serious question) No! apart from the fact we wouldn't fit, it's disgusting. The pouches are filled with mucus. Yuck.  'Do you wrestle Crocodiles?' No.  'Do you drink Fosters?' Fosters beer is one of the few Australian beers that is exported, it is also VERY rare that you'll find ONE Australian who drinks it. Australians do like their drinking, this isn't too much of a stereotype. 'Are you from Sydney?' The population of Sydney is a little over 4mil. Which means, there are 17million people who are not from Sydney. 'Sydney is the capital of Australia.' ERN! Wrong! This assumption is thanks to the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Sydney is the Buisness capital, but CANBERRA is the capital.

So, do all French people eat froglegs and snails?

Does it always rain in Britain?

Do all Americans drive hummers?

Set the stereotypes straight.

Well it looks like Ben has already spoken up for England and quite well. I have to say I am not exactly sure exactly what kind of stereotypes exist about the English apart from the Australians calling us Poms (does ANYONE know why???).

 I would also like to offer up a suggestion as to why we do not use umbrellas that much: in our weather they are pretty useless most of the time, due to the fact that most of the time when it is raining, it is also quite windy, therefore blowing umbrellas around and generally making them quite useless, in my experience, such a shame...

 If anyone has any other ideas of what you think the British are like, please speak up so that we can confirm and deny from you. This is certainly a very interesting thread and a very good way to learn about other cultures!

Hello everyone.

I am studying Russian and I am going to be spending a few months in Russia on placement and I am just reading a bit about their conversational style. It seems there maybe some differences in the use of interruptions. For example, in England we have quite a strict turn-taking sequence, and as such to interrupt someone in the middle of their turn can be considered as quite rude, especially if it is done often. However, in Russian it would seem that people are 'expected' to be 'interrupted' and if they are not, that they have a lack of 'support' in the conversation. Can anyone confirm or deny this in any way?

Many Thanks,

Hannah 

Well actually, although not ALL British people drink tea, it is quite common. The days though, I think coffee is becoming more popular with many coffee shops in towns (always nice to stop for a nice drink and cake when you have been busy shopping!).

It is kind of reassuring in a way to know that stereotypes of people aren't always true (especially when you consider stereotypes of your own countrymen).